HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Enemy Of God – Kreator
Although thrash metal is typically associated with the Big Four from the United States, over on European shores, Germany has equal claim to the thrash metal throne. Alongside their countrymen DESTRUCTION, SODOM and TANKARD, Essen’s KREATOR are arguably one of the biggest thrash metal bands on the planet with timeless classics in Pleasure To Kill (1986) and Coma Of Souls (1990) and a consistently solid suite of records at the turn of the Century. A large component of their 21st Century revival is 2005’s Enemy Of God.
It wasn’t always plain sailing for KREATOR. After establishing themselves as an explosive name in the booming thrash scene in the 1980s with the aforementioned Pleasure To Kill and 1988’s Extreme Aggression, which saw the band win legions of US-based fans, as thrash declined in popularity in the 1990s and grunge took its place, the band switched their focus towards adopting more experimental approaches to their music with mixed results.
Sixth album, 1992’s Renewal introduced death metal and industrial influence and, although it introduced KREATOR to a new audience, long-time fans were dismayed at the change in style and by the close of the decade, the band’s declining sales and critical reception had dropped to its lowest point. Fortunately, the band roared back into life as we entered the 21st Century as 2001’s Violent Revolution capitalised on the resurgence of thrash and saw KREATOR return to their roots.
Violent Revolution was a scorching success (and would later be credited as being a catalyst for the early 200s thrash revival) but 2005’s follow-up, Enemy Of God, was the album which demonstrated that KREATOR were building on something truly special indeed. Returning alongside legendary producer Andy Sneap, a man whose extensive CV boasts the likes of OBITUARY‘s Dead (1998) and OPETH‘s Deliverance (2002), as well as producing Violent Revolution, the band spent three months in mid 2004 crafting the album that intended to keep the momentum surging forwards.
Released in January 2005, Enemy Of God demonstrated a ferocious musical assault by KREATOR, with enough blistering solos and necksnapping riffage for fans to feast upon. Building upon their classic thrash foundations with more emphasis placed towards the Gothenburg-style riffing pioneered by the likes of IN FLAMES and AT THE GATES, the record perfectly balances thrash’s heyday with enough modern sounds to be a force to be reckoned with.
Whilst KREATOR‘s past works had never shied away from dark and morbid topics, Enemy Of God saw the band dive into more brutal territory. The title track, a fierce and ferocious opener, sets the tone in thundering fashion and with lyrics such as “War of all wars foreseen before, Freedom’s foundations exist no more, A genocide nightmare, the darkest of days, Chaos devourers all as hope and pride fades”, it’s clear that KREATOR are not fucking about. Elsewhere, the likes of Suicide Terrorist and World Anarchy reflects the stark situation of a post-9/11 landscape with The War On Terror raging in the Middle East against organisations posed as terrorists.
Critically, Enemy Of God was a roaring success for KREATOR. Blabbermouth would rate the record a solid 8/10 citing “Enemy of God should at least prove that there is still a lot of life left in what is undoubtedly one of the most successful and influential German metal exports of all time” whilst the likes of AllMusic and Classic Rock would rate the record the same with 8/10s across the board.
And with a strong reception, the band capitalised on the momentum, spending the next two years touring extensively across the western world. Early 2006 saw the band cross the Atlantic to tour across North America with NAPALM DEATH, A PERFECT MURDER and THE UNDYING while the following year saw the band team up with the legendary CELTIC FROST for a co-headlining European run with incendiary openers WATAIN thrown in for good measure. These tours promoting Enemy Of God solidified the band’s continuing resurgence at that time.
20 years later and in 2025, KREATOR are a juggernaut in the modern heavy music scene. They recently completed a successful co-headlining European and UK run alongside thrash legends ANTHRAX in some of the biggest venues they’ve played on our shores to date, and who can forget the triumphant headlining performance at Bloodstock Festival 2021, in a time where live music was just beginning its recovery post-COVID.
These sublime achievements are recent yes, and much closer to present day than the album’s release 20 years ago. Of course, the band have released four more albums since Enemy Of God, with 2009’s Hordes Of Chaos, 2012’s Phantom Antichrist and 2017’s Gods Of Violence being hailed as some of the best metal this Century, us included here at Distorted Sound. But, at the root of the band’s sustained success is Enemy Of God. It built the foundation for the band for be flying the flag for metal in the here and how and remains a staple of good old fashioned brutal metal 20 years after its release.
Enemy Of God was originally released on January 10th, 2005 via SPV/Steamhammer.
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